The major objective of the project is to rigorously assess the effectiveness of profound relaxation as a symptomatic treatment for asthma attacks in children. We are accomplishing this by training children to relax while they are symptom-free and then by assisting them to attain a relaxed state while they are experiencing episodes of mild to moderate airway obstruction. Various aspects of nervous system behavior are being measured while the children relax in order to assess the relaxed state, and changes in pulmonary variables are being assessed by relatively extensive, but standard, pulmonary functional testing before and after each session. Finally, by gaining information on what characterizes those children who seem to benefit most, and on how relaxation compares to standard catacholamine therapy, we hope to be in a position to recommend and describe the indications for use of relaxation therapy well beyond the population of children at the National Asthma Center. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE: Alexander, A.B., French, C.A. and Goodman, N.J. A comparison of auditory and visual feedback in biofeedback assisted muscular relaxation training. Psychophysiology, 1975, 12, 119-123.